NAVIGAT ReXPRESS September-October 2015 • Monthly Newsletter for the United States Coast Guard Auxiliary All photos provided by USCG Aux H William Smith Inside USCGC Eagle A Below Decks Look Through The Eyes of an Auxiliarist On Board Article by H William Smith, Assistant Editor, Navigator Express NORFOLK, Va. — Ask about anyone what ship most represents the United States Coast Guard and they will say the USCGC Eagle, America’s Tall Ship. Thousands of visitors walk her decks each year and marvel at the rigging and a technology that is more akin to the past than present or future. But, few visitors have ever seen what the ship is like on the inside. Recently the Navigator Express was given that privilege. Coast Guard Auxiliary District 8 ER Commodore Rick Schal serves each summer sailing season as a Quartermaster of the Watch on Eagle. Schal took time out of his busy schedule to give a guided tour below decks during the Eagle’s visit to Norfolk, Virginia, during Harbor Days. A Crew-Only Look at Eagle. Above decks and in the rigging the Eagle is all about the business of moving the 295-foot ship across the world’s oceans under sail. The three masts and their rigging dominate the top decks. One of the first places Schal stopped on the tour of the ship was the pilothouse, which serves as a nerve center for the The Eagle rests in her birth at Norfolk, Virginia, during the Harbor Continued on Page 2 Days festivities earlier this summer. About 21,000 visitors walked her decks during the three day visit. Inside USCGC Eagle Continued from page 1 ship while underway. Situated just aft of midships, and just forward of the ship‘s three main wheels and binnacle, the rather small enclosed area serves Navigator Express as the navigation and communications hub while underway. Masthead Moving down a set of steps and going below decks, the world changes from a very public one to the world of a working sailing ship. Immediately the tight EDITORIAL STAFF quarters constrained by the ships 39-foot beam become apparent. This is the world that the crew inhabits when not attending to duties on deck or in Bradford Simpson the rigging. Acting Editor H William Smith Throughout the ship there are Assistant Editor reminders that Eagle is a working Curtis Pratt ship at sea. Damage control Assistant Editor stations, storage areas for all the Review Team equipment needed to maintain a three-masted barque under Brian Harte Drew Herman either sail or its engine crowd Victoria Jacobs every available space. More than Thea Narkiewicz 23,400 gallons of fuel oil are stored in tanks that feed a 1,000 horsepower diesel main engine JUNE CONTRIBUTORS Fire aboard ship is any crew’s great fear. Damage and two 320 KW generators that Nicole Clark and fire control stations like this one are placed supply the ship’s electrical power. District 17 throughout Eagle to ensure any problem stays There is about 6 miles of standing small. COMO Harry Jacobs and running rigging connected to District 11 Southern the masts and with the foremast at 147.3 feet, the main also at 147.3 feet Brian Garry and the mizzen at 132 feet in height, the term “America’s Tall Ship” certainly District 7 applies. All of that rigging must be operated and maintained while at sea. With Bruce Ristich 22,300 square feet of sail when fully rigged, few ships are as complicated District 7 to operate as is a square-rigger when underway. In short, Eagle is a small Jonathan Lally American town with a peak population of 239 that carries the Coast Guard USCG message27 across the world’s oceans. The entire ship’s compliment is NATIONAL STAFF housed below the main deck in COMO Harry M. Jacobs quarters that are very typical of any Director of Public Affairs Coast Guard cutter. For the most Richard F. Mihalcik part, enlisted personnel and cadets Deputy Director of are housed in a living area that Public Affairs consists of crew cabins, each with 12 Bradford V. Simpson bunks, that house the majority of the Division Chief Publications crew. There are more individualized cabins with two bunks for the upper enlisted ranks and officers, Some officers may warrant a private berth, but a captain’s cabin and a cabin for most cabins are very small aboard the Eagle. visiting officers and dignitaries. © Copyright 2015 Coast Guard Auxiliary Association, Inc. Continued on Page 3 All Rights Reserved. 2 Inside USCGC Eagle Continued from page 2 Captain Matthew Meilstrup also has a suite with a beautifully appointed cabin which serves as a dining and lounge area that serves a number of uses, particularly when there are visiting dignitaries aboard. When underway, the captain invites four other members of the crew to dine with him in a tradition that is ages old aboard ships at sea. The décor, furniture and wood paneling on the walls harken back to the ship’s youth and are beautifully preserved. The officers’ wardroom and galley accommodate the other commissioned and warrant officers who serve on board. The enlisted mess, like most ships, is not large enough to accommodate the entire crew. Crewmembers eat on a schedule that is dictated by their watch duties. The enlisted (Above) The beautiful wood-paneled furnishings of the captain’s suite take the visitor back to the earlier days of mess also serves as an area where shipmates can gather, sea travel. (Below) The lounge in the captain’s suite is study or socialize. A glassed in case at one end contains impressive and can serve as a meeting place for dignitaries information that the crew needs for each day’s activities. on the Eagle. The enlisted galley adjoins the mess area, again in an economy of space typical of crowded quarters. Throughout the below decks area of the ship there are mementos of the ship’s past cruises and history that serve to remind all on board of Eagle’s long, and distinguished, service as both a school for seamanship and a public representation of the Coast Guard. Cruise plaques denote each cruise and different wall exhibits and artworks serve as reminders of the mission of Eagle, her history and those who have served aboard her. The pride in the ship, and their service on her, is evident in every crewmember encountered. The tour came to a close with a return 27 to the upper decks for a walk from bow to fantail. The unique status of Eagle was driven home by the looks on the faces of the people visiting the ship. At each turn, individuals were seen asking questions, gazing up at her rigging and talking about how special Eagle is. The thousands of visitors who visit Eagle and take in her majestic presence are left The modern but small galley requires the crew with the most positive of impressions of to eat in shifts. the big sailing ship and her crew. That a member of that crew is also a member of the Auxiliary, is a point of great pride, Schal, said, adding that in a small way he represents the entire Auxiliary when underway on Eagle. America’s Tall Ship is very special and the chance to During each summer District 8ER Commodore, Rick Schal, serves see her from the inside out was a rare opportunity for the Navigator Express, an as a Quartermaster of the Watch. opportunity that was much appreciated. 3 All Hands On Deck! The Auxiliary Lends A Hand During A Historic California Fire Article by H William Smith, BA-AMEA, Assistant Editor, Navigator Express Compiled From After Action Reports and Other Information Photo courtesy Reddit.com The ‘Valley Fire’ started on 12 September and burnt through more than 76,000 acres of land in Lake, Napa and Sonoma counties in central California. More than 1,900 structures were destroyed in blaze, including 1,280 homes. The call of “All Hands On Deck” is usually reserved unprecedented event that demanded unprecedented for emergencies that take place at sea. Recently, and rapid responses. The wildfire was extremely however, that call went out during the catastrophic destructive and unusually fast moving. About 3,000 forest fires in California as resources stretched to the people were immediately evacuated as more than limit. The United States Coast Guard Auxiliary is an 64 square miles of land were burned within the first organization that is normally more at home on the twelve hours of the inferno. With over 1,950 structures water but when the need arose during a catastrophic and 77,000 acres of forest burned over, the Valley fire on land, stepped up to lend assistance. The Fire ranks as the third worst fire in California history. Auxiliary mobilized members from California and Sadly, at least four people lost their lives and several Nevada to lend the hard-pressed firefighters a others were injured. The cause of the fire is under helping hand as it took on the mission of assisting investigation. evacuees from the historic Valley Fire in Lake, Napa An Auxiliarist Goes to Work and Sonoma counties. The entire Auxiliary response began with one A Historic Fire Event Auxiliarist offering to help. Thousands of people were displaced by the fire and On 14 September Jerry Gillgren, VFC for Flotilla 5-2 herculean efforts to fight it. Those affected by the in Napa, California arrived at 0700 acting as a civilian conflagration often were evacuated with little more dropping off a donation of tents, chairs, and personal than the clothes on their backs as the fire raced items when he decided to stay and volunteer.